Excessive swelling and visual disturbances a few weeks before....then I woke up with intense rib pain that wouldn't go away, went to the ER and my bp was 210/120's. Then I started puking ....once they put me on mag I was extremely tired but the rib 'liver' pain persisted until they delivered me....worst pain ever!

I started having pain in my mid-back at 36 weeks....I was told it was muscular and sent to PT like 3 times a week and told to take Tylenol. Well, I was counting the minutes until I could take Tylenol again, it was excruciating pain and left me out of breath. I had no appetite and could not sit still because of the pain. The nights were the worst, I couldn't sleep, all I could do was pass back and forth and take hot showers

2 more times to the OB and they still told me it was muscular and finally at 38 weeks they did bloodwork (I had no clue about pre-eclampsia at the time, and thought it was my heart or lungs) and I had protein, elevated liver enzymes and high bp, strangely my platelets didn't drop too much, so I had HELLP without the 'P'.

Anne, 39DH, 47Daughter born March 2005 at 38 weeks at only 4 1/2 lbs. by emergency c-section. Severe PE, HELLP & IUGR. 36 weeks of carefree PG, then it all went downhill and had an excruciating 2 weeks of pain and brushing off by Dr's until being properly diagnosed and delivered at 38 weeks. Since then have been diagnosed with celiac (2009) and Hashimoto's (2011).Terrified to TTC, but really want to TTC.

I had been having high bp from the 2nd trimester on, but then one night after dinner the upper abdominal pain started. Around 4 in the morning I realized that the last time I had been to the OB he told me that if I started having pain like that to get medical attention, so we went to the hospital. They sent me up to labor and delivery where they did bloodwork and confirmed that I had HELLP. I was admitted around 7 AM and had a csection that same afternoon.

Jacob - Born via c-section at 36 weeks due to HELLP syndromeSarah - Born at 39 weeks, hypertensive during pregnancy but no HELLP!

I had severe back pain. It was high and off to the side. It first came in the middle of the night at 37wks; my whole core was in a spasm and I spent awhile on the toilet with a bucket on my lap. The next morning my OB called it early labor. It continued off and on for 2wks. The back pain always occurred at night. It was horrible; the only thing that provided some relief was heat. I took hot showers and baths over and over again through the night. Sometimes my husband would massage the area too. I had been preparing for a natural childbirth; while probably helpful, those relaxation techniques were far from effective. By morning, the pains would start to go away. There were contractions too; but these were often irregular and "dysfunctional." I considered going to the hospital a couple times but the contractions weren't right. And I had a huge fear of a C-section. (Irony? Fearing a C-section as I develop HELLP by waiting for regular contractions.) Plus, I was exhausted in the morning and wanted a bit of rest as soon as I was able to sleep before going to the hospital. I always woke up with no contractions and mild back discomfort. A day or two before going to the hospital -- I had finally had enough after 2wks of this "puttering, early, back labor" -- I also developed a stiffness/discomfort in my shoulder.

Once again the contractions had stopped by the time I was going to the hospital. I even had to talk the admitting nurse into calling my OB because the contractions were so weak. They said my blood pressure was elevated and were concerned -- I don't recall the timeline and details of the day. They started the induction. Then they came back with the results of blood work showing my liver was failing. I had never heard of HELLP and was still resistant to things that put a time-line on labor, like breaking my water. My OB gave me a little time to hesitate and let things progress, maybe 2-3hrs. But I wasn't progressing until the epidural, which allowed me to relax. My platelets were high enough to have an epidural. I don't know about my blood pressure during labor. Afterward, I still had spells of back pain while in the hospital. When those occurred, my blood pressure shot up.

JoHanna, DVT and HELLP survivor, living and loving her lucky little Leland, who made it to full-term to be born on 8-9-10. Married to a supportive husband and wonderful father who puts up with her obsessing over HELLP on a regular basis. Wanting to conceive again but still worrying about the "what if's" ... being an empathetic pessimist doesn't help.

I also got hellp late in pregnancy... My 40th week. And my daughter didn't make it. Which I still don't understand the say if you develop late in pregnancy there's a high chance they'll make it. I feel like I have unanswered questions. And I just don't understand why she didn't make it.

Ryleigh Marie was born on January 30, 2011... and passed shortly after. She was 40 weeks and 1 day when she was born.. weighing at 6lbs and 2 oz. and 20 inches long.

And bordergurl I had called my midwife about the back and chest pain and she said it sounded like the baby was in my chest. And told me not to come in. I also got by, by taking hot showers. I also slept in the bath tub because being anywhere else was just too painful.

Ryleigh Marie was born on January 30, 2011... and passed shortly after. She was 40 weeks and 1 day when she was born.. weighing at 6lbs and 2 oz. and 20 inches long.

I had Class I HELLP. BP never got over 130/90. My symptoms included slight head ache, general 'unwell" feeling, and what felt like severe indigestion. Never felt anything intense or that painful. I just felt fluish for weeks. I did get some tingling in my legs the day before I went to the ER. Everyone has said that their pain was "excruciating" but mine wasnt my HELLP was very severe. My symptoms were so vague it was scary!